Academy

The New Ground Academy is a training community for church leaders and church shapers – mainly, but by no means exclusively, from the New Ground family of churches. So far, over 500 people have joined the Academy across its various satellite bases across Europe, offering leaders the chance to develop their gifts and go deeper on their journey into serving God and being part of bringing his kingdom where they are. We are delighted to be hosting a satellite right here in Liverpool from January 2019! This page will tell you all the basic information you need to know about Academy. For a list of FAQs regarding Academy, please click here.

What is this about?

Academy was established in 2014 within the New Ground sphere of NewFrontiers. The video below shows Phil Moore explaining the vision behind Academy back in 2014. Since the video was filmed, hundreds of people have accessed Academy in bases across Europe, and we are believing for many, many more!

Academy exists to train church leaders and shapers to play their part in fulfilling some of God’s great promises:

“Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses… to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

“The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).

We know that God uses ordinary men and women to do extraordinary things for him by the power of His Word and His Spirit. We encourage you to enrol in the New Ground Academy to help you develop you into the leader God has called you to be. We have worked hard to produce a training package that produces leaders who are equipped to lead well in every aspect of church life, through practical theology teaching, peer interaction, and on-the-job coaching.

Who is this for?

Academy is a training course for men and women called by God to have significant influence in his church through leadership. Church Leadership can take various forms – from Elders and pastors, to small group leaders, kids/youth workers, worship leaders and more.

The minimum entry requirement is that you are a member and committed attender of your local church. We would expect most people attending Academy to be serving in some sort of leadership capacity already and may give preference to those who are if we have more applicants than available places.

We warmly welcome leaders from other churches and church families to consider attending.

What’s the plan?

The main element of Academy is ten weekends of teaching and discussion per year for two years. Teaching takes place on Friday evenings and Saturday day times, enabling students to fit their Academy study around full time employment if they wish.

As an Academy Satellite Base, we will be watching recordings of the teaching materials presented by Phil Moore, Andrew Wilson, Terry Virgo, and other excellent leaders, and then hosting our own conversations about what has been taught and how this applies to us and our leadership situations.

The full syllabus can be found here, as well as the schedule for the next two years.

What’s the cost?

There are two major costs for Academy students: money and time. There’s no short cut to this: great church leaders and church shapers become great because they invest in their potential and put themselves in a place where God can speak to them and teach them.

Tuition fees for 2018 are as follows:

For an individual: £250 per year

For a married couple: £400 per year

The fees cover the administration of the course, online access to the teaching materials and notes, and dinner on the Friday nights in Liverpool. Saturday morning breakfast is also provided, but students will need to provide their own lunch on a Saturday.

There are ten two-day sessions per year, taking place monthly on a Friday (evening) and Saturday (morning and afternoon). By signing up for Academy you are committing to attend all sessions, so you may need to discuss this with your family, employer, and those who have given you leadership responsibilities to ensure that you have the time to do so.

What do I need to do?

If you are interested in doing Academy, starting in January 2019, please contact Chris Butland, who is leading our Academy base, with any questions you have about the course and application process. You can download an application form here: Application form Liverpool Academy 2019

If you’re a member of Freedom Church, you may like to chat with your Life Group leader or any member of the Leadership Team about making an application, before submitting, to check that this is right for you.

If you’re a member of another church, please chat with one of your leaders, before completing the application form and sending it to the email address below. We will be in contact with the church leader you specify on the application form to discuss your application.

If your application is successful, you will need to make your first payment before the first session in January.

I still have more questions!

That’s fine! we’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions. Click here to have a look and hopefully you will find what you are looking for. If not, email Chris Butland and he’ll be happy to help!